Hi to All. Today I must have been tired ha ha. I fell asleep reading in the morning and it was a good book. My husband was home and about, and the cleaning lady was here also. I was sleeping on the couch. I was so surprised when I woke up.

Well sometimes things just work out. I was surprised by a phone call of a friend who wanted to take us to lunch. So here I had napped and had the energy to go with her and have a yummy salad. The conversation of course was the highlight. Emma was superb in her behavior. It was cute. She had a suv and has two car seats for her granddaughters. So Emma went in the back. It was higher off the ground than Emma is use to. It was fun to help Emma get a bit of a running start and then jump up to where she sat. My friend had a nice blanket for her in the car.

My friends are good to let Emma ride with because boy can she shed even with my brushing her. We find having a blanket with works best. The woman who drives to swimming has a special blanket she stores in her car for when Emma or her dog ride with her. Emma is well received by my friends and that makes me happy.

Tonight it was so sweet. I directed Emma to bring Greg a blanket and then a small pillow from our couch. I don't think she had ever done the pillow before. IT was so darn cute as it had a bit of weight to it and a different shape. At first she dropped it and then looked at it, tried different ways to hold it in her mouth and then very enthusiastically brought it to Greg. I was waiting with a small treat for her. Then she looked around to see if there was anything else to retrieve.

She also was very playful today. She always is outside of course, but she was so eager to play tonight with Greg and I inside. Even more than normal if that is possible. We got out some of the toys and other things to retrieve. She rose to the occassion and had so much fun with us. What an awesome dog.

My daughter is at the Harry Potter activities today. She reserved a book earlier. Then she stood in line today to get a wrist band with a number. Then tonight she went to the bookstore to get in line. Her number in line is the number on the wrist band. She and several of her friends then are going to stay up all night reading the book. They want to be sure to read it cover to cover before they watch any tv or go on the computer. They don't want anything to spoil their reading of the book. They wanted to be surprised by its content. Her siblings will likely read the book of hers when she is finished.

I wonder what Emma would think of such a gathering. There is a party so many will be in costume at the bookstore. How nice that a book could generatte so much enthusiasm. I tutored a boy whose goal was to read well enough to read Harry Potter. For him it was a motivator to keep working on his skills. Of course many adults are interested also.

We did not go to the book store party as I still am battling some dizziness and that big a crowd is not easy to handle. Also I found at Halloween Emma was not fond of scary costumes.

I received a form from Helping Paws today to complete. It is to update their file on her health, behavior and how things are going. It made me again reflect on how fortunate I am to have her in my life. From the moment I wake up to her kisses, till bedtime when she wants to be petted and give kisses....she makes my life better.

It is late, so I will get to bed. I took a late afternoon short nap so still am awake. i wish you a great day. Take good care.
Love from Emma and Mary

Emma and I went to the YMCA for water exercise. Then Thursday's we often go to lunch at a favorite Italian place. Emma's behavior was just great.

I will write more tomorrow. My daughter came tonight for a visit. Yeah.

The dizziness was better today -yeah.
Mary

Emma and I were home most the day. Tonight my daughter-in-law, granddaughters, daughter and son came here for dinner. We grilled. I was pretty dizzy so Greg cooked and they helped out. I enjoyed seeing Rosa and Sophia. This was all a nice surprise. It brightened my day. We didn't know till late afternoon how many were coming over.

Emma was so excited because they brought their dog Lily. At times Emma's zest to play can be a bit overwhelming to Lily. It takes a bit before things settle down. Emma started racing around she was so excited to see Lily. Rosa was on the floor crawling and playing. More than once I had to have Emma settle down so didn't bump Rosa. It helped when both dogs were outside in the fenced yard while Greg grilled and watched them.

By meal time all had settled in. Both Lily and Emma were calm and we had a great evening. I get a kick out of Rosa in the high chair. She is just learning to eat some finger foods and it is just so cute. Sophia is getting so big and it was fun to hear what was new with her.

I got right down on the floor with the girls to enjoy them. I fell once trying to get down due to vertigo but luckily did not hit or bump them. Once I sat I got more balance and could play with them. How fun.

It is cute once they left Emma was right up on the couch with me. She wanted my full attention. She of course was very good helper for me all day. It was a good thing we took a long nap. She is so much fun to be with and such a comfort also.

We did get outside. It is late and I can't think of something very creative to share.

OH GREAT NEWS!! Due to the generosity of a friend, all my children will be able to attend the Helping Paws Dinner. Our friends, my children, daughter-in-law, and my someday to be son-in-law all will be going. Tickets are $75 per person so wow that is one generous friend. I know she is very happy to do this for us and also to support Helping Paws. This will be her first time at the Tail Waggin Dinner. I have already brainstormed some ideas for my talk. I will be meeting with someone from the Board to discuss ideas about what they want shared related to the theme of the dinner. I am so honored and excited to do this.

Wishing you a good day - Mary and Emma

Dear Emma,

You are my delightful companion.
You help me face my MS each day.
You wake me with your kisses and welcome me into a new day together.
You make sure I get outside each day to enjoy nature.
You accept me unconditionally.

Emma,
You help me from dawn to dusk in so many ways.
You pick up the things I drop
You bring me the phone
You bring me smiles
Your enthuaiasm brings optimism to my day.

Emma,
You open door for me
You literally open doors for me at the YMCA at home or where ever it is needed.
You also open doors to opportunity
I am more independent with you at my side
I venture out to more activities due to your presence
Where would I be without you?

You are a welcome presence at my MS activities
My friends have admired your abiiities and your role in my life.
Through you I have gotten to know people at Helping Paws
and been reunited with Judy (her fosters mom) and her family.

Your involvement in my life
enriches my life.
You have made even my dizzy days easier to cope with.
You are so special to me.

No amount of words can capture what all you mean to me.
Thank you dear Emma
For being my companion and service dog.
I hope we have many years together.
But I bet if I wrote daily I still couldn't completely capture
what you mean to me.

Love you, Mary

Emma and I spent most the day at home. Emma enjoyed lots of time outdoors with me. I had to sit due to the still lingering vertigo, but she didn't mind at all. I threw her toys and also she had time to just enjoy the yard. Her favorite thing is to check that wood pile to see if their are chipmunks around. When she plays she will wander into the yard, and then come back to me for some petting. She keeps a close eye on me while she plays. My dear Emma.

Tonight we went with Greg for a quick trip to Barnes and Noble. She is so well behaved. They did not have the book I wanted but I was glad to go there. We were surprised to meet my daughter there. She was with a friend. My husband found what he wanted so that was good.

Emma helped me do a little bit of laundry folding. I didn't get it put away (wish she could do that ha ha) because I have to limit how I move due to the dizziness. The up and down movements are tough. I am thrilled however to be able to move easier from room to room and not fall. I use my cane and hang on to the wall to help.

Emma's ability to get me the phone, or pick up things is really really fabulous for me right now. Having her around helps me keep my spirits up.

Fortunately, I have a computer with a big screen and can put the font to 64 if needed. It still might be a bit blurry but the larger fonts make it possible to use it if I don't move my head to much (to avoid being dizzy). Well I am writing something for the MS society with a word limit of 500 words.

You all have to chuckle as you know how wordy I am. Trying to get the ideas contained in 500 words is so difficult. I do a little and then have to rest my eyes for hours. Nothing new either the steroids, or the flare up are impacting my eyes. I have had that before without dizziness. Thankfully it has always improved. One time though it took six months. Okay let's assume that won't happen again.

We are off to bed. Emma is such a sweetie. Even though I write this blog daily - words do not capture how awesome she is in my life. My husband feels she makes his life as a caregiver so much easier. I will make that a topic in a future blog.

Have a good day,
Mary